Mahtab Uddin Ahmed

Someone I know once joked, “In Bangladesh, legal process is like a traffic signal -- it exists, but nobody follows it.” I know of a family that has been caught in a legal battle regarding land for decades. It is the kind of dispute that survives elections, grey hairs, and a few judges. They have won every round up to the top court, but the case? It is still pending outside the court. The legal system here is not just blind -- it is apparently waiting in traffic, hoping to dodge the maxim justice delayed is justice denied.

In our days, one landline served the entire moholla – and half the neighbourhood aunties answered your calls before your parents did. If you misbehaved, Amma’s flying chappal had GPS-guided accuracy – one silent glare, one clean hit. Eid was pure magic: a new panjabi, some Tk 10 Eidi, and rooftop laughter with cousins till midnight. Fast forward to today, where kids have personal phones, fear screen-time limits more than chappals, and won’t call it Eid unless there’s a new outfit, a viral reel, and at least 500 likes before lunch.

In a small Bangladeshi town, a politician sought advice from his lawyer friend after making a questionable move.

Molla Nasiruddin took his donkey to the roof, but it refused to come down. Despite his efforts, the stubborn donkey resisted, kicking relentlessly.

Consumers worldwide notice that companies often use sneaky tricks to boost profits at the customers’ expense.

How common is it in our daily life when a teacher or boss sets a deadline, and we all think, “Oh, I’ll start in ten days!” Suddenly, time shrinks, and it’s panic mode: emergency declared, day-and-night sprints commence, and the assignment emerges from chaos.

Is procrastination just a well-choreographed dance with time?

Move over nine-to-five office hours! In Bangladesh, where traffic jams are our unofficial “overtime”, the idea of a 90-hour workweek sounds like a plot twist in a Dhallywood movie.

Thinking about building your dream home in a prominent real estate compound? Brace yourself for a mountain of rules that, surprise, primarily benefit the authority.

During a job interview, Hassan, an MBA graduate, confidently highlighted his unique strengths as being his versatile skills and strategic thinking. However, when asked about specific skills like coding, data analytics, or AI, he conceded that he had not mastered any.

In Bangladesh, human resources (HR) often feel like driving a car without an engine—lots of noise, no progress. By 2030, 39 percent of core job skills will be obsolete, yet we’re stuck debating Excel training. Heads of HR, treated as attendance monitors, lack the tools to tackle this shift. Automation looms, poised to replace jobs faster than Dhaka traffic consumes patience. Without urgent reskilling, our demographic dividend risks becoming a liability. With machines learning faster than humans, the future won’t wait for us to catch up over endless cups of cha. It’s time to act before it’s too late.

A Moulana shared a viral story about his childhood friend, an eloquent speaker who became the Imam of a modern mosque in Dhaka.

Years ago, Karim, a skilled fisherman, had a secret trick to catch fish. He would quietly tap the water three times, toss some crumbs, and wait. Like magic, the fish always came.

One of my senior colleagues was a file-hoarding perfectionist, minutely checking every line before approving. His room looked like a paper factory explosion! He also believed everyone was out to stab him in the back, so he trusted no one. When the boss caught him delaying, he would pull a “Chatur from Three Idiots” -- “I didn’t do it!” -- triggering a blame game that turned the office into a daily soap opera of chaos and comedy! Often, I was on the receiving end of that blame game! Trying to be perfect in an imperfect world is like ironing your pyjamas -- hard work that nobody notices, and it’s a waste of time!

South Asia relies heavily on professional accountants for governance, financial transparency, and regulatory compliance and yet the availability of these experts is scarce.

Despite over a decade of investing in Bangladesh’s stock market, I have suffered a 40 percent loss even with a strategy focused on blue-chip shares since 2012. This experience highlights the structural issues plaguing our capital market -- low liquidity, lack of depth, and eroding investor confidence. Addressing these challenges requires bold, immediate measures grounded in global best practices tailored to local realities.

In the viral Millennial Job Interview, young applicant Amy brings an unconventional view of professionalism that confuses her interviewer. Listing Snapchat and Instagram as her “tech skills”, she dismisses traditional tools like Excel, labelling Facebook “for old people.”

Every year on November 10, the world recognises International Accounting Day, celebrating the essential role accountants play in ensuring financial stability and growth across economies.

Motivating employees is tantamount to convincing a fish to walk. While managers shout, “reach for excellence!” we reach for a cup of tea after braving Dhaka traffic to work. They say, “think big!” but our minds are counting down to the next public holiday. And “give it your best!” sounds great until someone realises “the best” had left at 5:30pm sharp. Let’s face it, the only motivation that really works here is Thursday afternoon, when we clock out and finally escape the inspiration overload!

Human resources (HR), once the department that handled payroll, kept track of who took more sick days (or less), and planned those awkward team-building retreats where you felt you would rather be anywhere else -- is now expected to do a lot more than just decorate artificial plants inside the office.